U.K. to Send More Troops to Afghanistan

[Coventina]

Source: Wall Street Journal

LONDON -- Britain will send 140 more troops to Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday, as the bodies of eight soldiers killed in recent fighting with Taliban forces were flown back to England.

The additional soldiers will be transferred from a British base in Cyprus to join more than 9,000 British troops already fighting in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province.

With other European nations unwilling to send more troops -- and Afghan forces not ready to take up overall security -- Britain's support has been crucial to the international coalition battling Taliban insurgents seeking to regain power.

The death of 15 British soldiers this month, however, has sparked debate about the purpose and progress of the faraway war. The country's overall toll of 184 from Afghanistan now surpasses the number of British troops killed in Iraq.



Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124757258390338343.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[ShamelessHussy]

1. A drop in the ocean